Suit Filed Over Movie Snack Prices

A Michigan movie patron who says he tired of being "taken advantage of" at the snack bar has filed a class action suit to lower concession prices.

Joshua Thompson, a security technician in his 20s from Livonia, filed suit in Wayne County Circuit Court against a local America Multi Cinema (AMC) theater Friday.

"He got tired of being taken advantage of," said Thompson's attorney, Kerry Morgan. "It's hard to justify prices that are three- and four-times higher than anywhere else."

The Detroit Free Press said consumer experts speculate the case will be thrown out but it resonated with movie lovers who said they were not happy about the prices they pay at the concession counter.

"The prices are ridiculous," Rebecca Motley, 55, a Southfield physician, said while leaving the AMC Star Southfield 20.

Motley said she and a companion spent $5 each for morning movie tickets and $11 each for soft drinks and popcorn.

"When I was a kid, $1 could get you into the movies and buy you a pop and popcorn. But not anymore," Motley said. "I don't know how kids can go on their own to a movie anymore."

American Multi Cinema, which operates the AMC theater in Livonia, declined comment. A worker at the National Association of Theatre Owners in Washington, D.C., angrily hung up the phone when asked about industry snack pricing practices, the Free Press said.